A journey through mind, heart and soul
by iodia
Summary: After failing his task in Half Blood Prince, Draco faces the Dark Lord's wrath. A new task is assigned to him, with the threat of his life if he fails again. Suspense, romance, and a life changing decision.
1. Chapter 1

A sense of dread invaded him as he disapparated out of Hogwarts; he barely noticed the pain in his neck from where Snape was gripping tightly. What had happened was a blur to him, murky as pond water. He only knew one thing: he had failed in his task. He felt sure that he would be subjected to torturous punishment, and was hardly looking forward to it as he was looking forward to his death sentence.

"Get moving, Draco! Stop standing there like a dazed rabbit; my hand's getting tired from all these dragging! For goodness sake! And put on your mask!" Snape snarled.

Numbly he stuffed the mask on has head and began to move, paces behind Snape. Snape had to stop frequently so that he could catch up, and he could tell from his expression that he was annoyed, but at the same time…worried?

"You do know that the Dark Lord punishes whoever who fails him?"

His ability to talk was still there, he discovered, as he barked out a retort, "I would have killed him had you not interfered. I was doing perfectly alright until you bashed in and got rid of that old fool for me!"

Snape snorted. "Yeah, and how were you going to do that when you stood there, wand trembling in your hand?"

"Never you mind! Shut up! And after all, it was I who got that fool standing there like a stupid duck for you to kill!"

He knew his rage was but a façade, a façade to cloak over his fear. He knew he wasn't a kid anymore, so why was it that all he wanted now was to be in his mother's embrace, listening to her soothing voice that all was but a dream?

Except it was not a dream; it was a nightmare – and one that he was not going to wake up from.

He could feel his death eater's scar heating up; the Dark Lord knew that Albus Dumbledore, the only wizard that might have matched him up in powers, had died. As he tramped behind Snape reluctantly, he wondered whether Dumbledore's death would keep the Dark Lord happy enough to give him a lighter punishment. "Yeah, I wish."

"Excuse me?" Snape looked back, one brow lifted in annoyance.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

There was no need to say anything about how he felt as they got nearer. _Well, at least my life's meaningful after annoying the hell out of Potter a few million times_, he thought bitterly. He wondered if he had the opportunity to go to Heaven. Maybe he would become a devil in Hell. A handsome one at that, he thought conceitedly, smirking and flipping his hair to the side.

In front of him, Severus Snape smirked too. Draco had been too distracted to perform Occlumency on his thoughts. He had caught that last bit about the handsome devil. _Can anyone be as self-centered as him? _

The muddy grass plains stained and wet their robes. The night was dark, and the plains were only lit up by a single ray of light from the wand held in Snape's arm. In the distance, an owl hooted.

Without speaking, Snape and Draco stopped still. They had arrived.

**A/N: Do review! I appreciate all reviews, and thank you all sincerely! I will try to review back as fast and as best as possible. (:**


	2. Chapter 2

Fleur Delecour walked down the aisle, looking absolutely stunning in a simple elegant cream gown. Her face was glowing, her cheeks reddish with the joy of the moment.At the front of the aisle, her soon-to-be husband Bill Weasley beamed at her, and held out his hand. Behind them, Mrs Weasley sat behind her husband, dabbing her eyes.

Hermione Granger watched as they exchanged their vows, and as Mrs Weasley burst into tears of happiness. She grinned. Amidst all the grief the students suffered as they watched Dumbledore's funeral possession, she was glad that at least there were still things tocheer about.

This year was going to be different from the rest.

For Dumbledore, for Harry, for all the innocent civilians, wizards and muggles regardless, they were going to set off, and defeat You-know… no, Voldermort (it was definitely time to start using his name, she reminded herself). Her trunk was ready and packed in The Burrow, and straight after the wedding, the three of them were going to set off. Right now, sitting here, she felt a barrage of mixed emotions: anxiety, nervousness, and yet at the same time glad that they were finally going to do something to stop Voldermort.

---

"Ron! Remember to bring a few sweaters along; wherever you are going might be cold! Harry and Hermione, you too! And take this book," Mrs Weasley ordered Ron as she shoved a copy of "Lockhart's guide to Housework chores" to him, "you're going to do all your washing yourselves for a change this year… oh dear! I'm going to be so worried!And what about food? No house elves are going to place your meals right in front of you; you are going to have to starve! Oh dear! What are you going to do?"

The three of them watched with a dumbfounded amazement as Mrs Weasley rushed about, busier than all three of them combined. _You've thought that she was the one going for the journey, _Hermione thought, resisting the urge to grin.

"Oh don't worry Mum, we are going to… hey, Harry, what are we going to do?"

"Err, um, …" Harry stared at Ron with an expression of total bewilderment. "Well…"

Hermione glared at the two of them. "Don't worry Mrs Weasley, we can always buy supplies outside, and cook them over a fire. Or even better, if there are Muggle restaurants around, we can always pop in. I have some spare Muggle money."

Mrs Weasley still looked worried. "Oh dear. Three of you, barely seventeen, and out alone!"

_Crack! Crack! Crack! _They watched, astounded, as Alastor Moody, Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin apparated in front of them. Tonks grinned. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you didn't think that we were going to go with you?"

"What!" Harry choked. "But… but…"

"No buts," Tonks told them cheerfully, linking her hand with Remus's. It was a gesture no one missed, and Hermione grinned. _Looks like another wedding might be up soon… _She thought cheekily.

"We are going to follow you three, though separately and discreetly. Being in a large crowd attracts attention, and we don't want He-who-must-be-named to be alerted strongly. He probably already knows you will be going after him, and yet he might have dismissed you three as a minor threat, and not one to be too worried about. Tonks is going to have to report to her auror duty now and then though; we don't want to raise suspicions. Kingsley can't go with us; he has to protect the Muggle Prime Minister." Remus explained to them.

Mad-eyed Moody surveyed them with his roving electric-blue eye silently, and nodded.

"Alright, are we going to stand here yakking all day, or are we going to finally get going?"

---

**A/N: Second chapter up! Do review!**


	3. Chapter 3

A ring of masked wizards stood in the vast plains where a cold wind whistled and blew, causing their robes to flap about. The wizards did not seem to be bothered though; their attention was focused solely on the wizard in the middle.

He didn't look like any wizard at all. His eyes were a livid crimson, glowing red in the darkness. He was skeleton-like, with thin long fingers and a gaunt face. His nose was flat, and if you did not look closely, it seemed that he had only slits for nostrils. In the centre of the circle he stood, donning a hood, and it seemed that authority radiated from his mere being.

Each masked wizard had bent down to kiss the hem of the robes of this particular wizard, and now they stood quietly at the side, waiting.

A loud cackle, emitted from the wizard at the centre, broke the silence of the night like the smashing of glass. The Dark Lord was happy, and subconsciously, the wizards breathed a sigh of relief. Only a particularly young wizard was still tense, afraid.

"Fellow Death Eaters!" He announced it, triumph in his powerful voice, echoing in the empty plains and making it seem louder than it actually was. "Fellow Death Eaters, I'm here to announce a very happy event: Dumbledore, the old fool, has finally died."

There was a round of frantic applause, followed by hushed whispers. Who had done it? Who was the lucky one who was about to step up on the Dark Lord's ranks?

"I'll like to see him say that death isn't the worst thing that could happen!" The Dark Lord laughed, a raspy one at that. "Now, I announce to you the loyal servant who has done it for me: Severus Snape."

Silence.

"My Legilimency, as you all know, is the greatest in this world, yet it was not enough to make you fully believe in his loyalty. Now, his loyalty is proven through the death of Albus Dumbledore, and he will be rewarded greatly."

The whispers started again, only to die down with a sharp "Quiet!" by the Dark Lord.

"Though I'm very pleased with such an announcement, I am displeased by one of my servants."

Here goes, Draco thought. He had never felt so cold before. Calm down, empty your mind, he ordered himself. To let the Dark Lord read his thoughts like a piece of transparent clear glass was courting death. He rubbed his arm, but the gesture did not help his shivering.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Malfoy. Your father was a disappointment, and you are also one."

Draco forced himself to look up, though his face was aflame with shame. Wasn't he the one who led that idiot Snape to Dumbledore? He shuffled his feet, dreading what the Dark Lord was going to do to punish him.

No sooner had he thought this that the Dark Lord whispered, "_Crucio._"

Draco screamed. It was pure pain, pain beyond belief, pain beyond anything he had experienced. He felt as though his skin was being torn apart, bit by bit… left to be burnt… Please, let this pain be over… He writhed on the ground, twitching, turning, struggling…

The Dark Lord lifted his wand. "Seeing that this is a happy occasion, I won't kill you, as I do with servants who disappoint me. But you were a coward," he spitted the word out, "a coward. To be afraid to use _Avada Kedavra! _However, taking things into account that you are still young, I shall assign another task to you. And this time," there was silence, and the sentences that followed kept haunting Draco's thoughts, "_you will not fail me._"

"_Bring Harry Potter._"

**A/N: How was it?**


	4. Chapter 4

Cedric was floating… it was so blissful, light, sweet. Were those things in white with… wings? WINGS?

_Oh, I'm in heaven. It's quite nice, really. _

Cedric smiled at the angels (he assumed they were – after all, what was heaven without angels?) floating at the side of the entrance. The entrance was magnificent, an arch made of solid gold with vines twisting their way up. Tiny white flowers bloomed at those vines, closed, and then bloomed again for the onlooker. He started to walk right in, only to be stopped forcibly by one of the angels.

"You are not allowed to go in."

_And I thought angels were supposed to be nice and gentle…wait a minute. I can't go in? _

"But I am dead! What am I supposed to do if I can't go in?" he asked, puzzled and frustrated. _Maybe I got transported to the wrong place… maybe I was supposed to go to Hell or something._

"It is not your time yet. Wait outside, for your fate writes that you will be revived."

_WHAT? Revived? Alive again? And just after I got over the shock of being dead! _Cedric was getting more pissed by the minute.

"Look. Are you all playing a joke on me or something? First I grabbed the Triwizard cup with Harry, thinking that I was winning, and the next moment I know, I was dead, and brought up here after saying my last words to Harry. And now you tell me I can't go in 'cause I am going to be alive again?"

The angels stood stolidly at the sides of the gates, their spears held rigidly in their hands, with no reaction to whatever he had said. Cedric ran a hand through his brown hair, gave off a rather childish _Humph!_, and stomped off to one of those floating chairs there.

_Heaven is a really irritating place. _He laid down on the bench, and kicked the side of it violently.

A voice immediately spoke. "According to rule number 134, you are not allowed to damage any public property in Heaven, and actions include kicking or punching. This is your first warning. Do that again, and you will get a demerit point."

_WHAT! They have rules in Heaven? WTH! This day really sucks. _

"According to rule number 58, you are not allowed to swear in Heaven, whether in thoughts or in speech. This is your first warning. Do that again and you will get a demerit point."

Cedric's only answer was to aim the angel who voiced out the rules like a robot with a searing glare that could burn through metal.

* * *

"Well, what do we do now?" Hermione asked Harry once they were out in the open. Moody, Lupin and Tonks, true to their word, had stayed hidden, but they could feel their presence near them.

"Well… according to Dumbledore, Voldermort most likely had seven horcruxes. We think that two of them have been destroyed, so that leaves five. We have that fake locket," and here he stopped, and scowled deeply at it, "and I suppose… we should start from there."

Harry continued scowling at the locker, his brows furrowed. His eyes had a flash of pain, which lingered there till Hermione spoke up, in which he woke up from his daze.

"So how do we start from there?"

Harry looked at Ron. Ron looked back at Harry. "I dunno?" Ron struggled his shoulders. "What do we do?"

"Harry!" Hermione almost shrieked. "You're the one whom Dumbledore talked to!" She paced back and forth. "Just open the locker I guess, and we will see how to go from there."

The note stared back at them. R.A.B. What or who could it be?

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter after a long long time (alright, I apologize! haha)... **


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